A
Primer of Materia Medica
for practitioners of Homopathyby Timothy Field AllenPresented by
Médi-T.

COCCULUS

General action :

It produces violent convulsions and loss of control over muscles ;
excessive vertigo and nausea. Paralysis of muscles.

Generalities :

Paralytic immobility of the limbs, with drawing pains in the bones.
One-sided paralysis, with numbness of the limbs.
Paralytic attack, with pain in the back, so that it is difficult to stand
steadily.
Sensation of emptiness and constriction of internal parts.
Tendency to tremble.
Great weariness from the slightest effort, amounting even to faintness.
Intolerance of the open air, both warm and cold.
General aggravation from eating, drinking, sleeping, talking, driving and
smoking.

Clinical

:
General tendency to paralysis ; heaviness and sluggishness of the
whole body, numbness ; sometimes trembling and jerking of various
groups of muscles ; at times unconquerable drowsiness.
Spasmodic affections ; epilepsy characterized by cold extremities and
numbness ; chorea, the patient is exhausted ; hysteria,
especially menstrual ; complains of numbness and weakness of the
extremities ; particularly useful in complaints resulting from loss
of sleep.
General hyperæsthesia of all senses ; intolerance of the least
excitement.
Symptoms of emptiness and hollowness in the thoracic or abdominal cavities
are frequently associated with the symptoms of weakness or paralysis.
General bad effect of prolonged insomnia.
Nervous exhaustion, with profound weakness of extremities, aching in
thighs, falling asleep of limbs ; weak, empty feeling in chest or
abdomen.

:
It is especially adapted to cases which present a mental condition of
stupidity ; slow of comprehension or cannot think of words with which
to express themselves ; the mind feels benumbed, especially with
vertigo, nausea, etc.
Mental derangements resulting from suppression of menses.
Melancholy ; is wrapped in profound sadness, with apprehension,
desire to escape, etc., the consequences of vexation, with grief.

Head :

Convulsive trembling of the head.
Aching, with nausea.
Headache < cold air.
Head seems tied up ; brain feels rolled up into a small ball.
General confusion or vertigo, < eating and drinking ; < rising
up in bed, with nausea, and with dullness in the forehead as if a board
were bound across the forehead.
Pain in the forehead as if eyes would be torn out.

Clinical

:
Vertigo as if intoxicated is an almost constant concomitant of Cocculus
symptoms, generally associated with a feeling of stupefaction of head and
numbness and unsteadiness of extremities.
Sick headaches, pain especially seated in occiput, extending down
spine ; extremely sensitive to external impressions, with constant
nausea and vertigo.
Sick headaches, especially brought on by reading in cars and
carriages ; sea-sickness.

Eyes :

Bruised pain in the eyes, with inability to open them at night.
Pain in the eyes as if they would be torn out of the head.
Pupils contracted.
Vision dim, with black spots before the eyes.

Ears :

Sound of rushing water in the ears, with difficult hearing.

Face :

The lines of the face are deepened ; it seems drawn.
Earthy color, with a painful expression.
Heat of the face, with red cheeks, even in a cold room.

Clinical

:
Paralysis of facial nerve, involving the lids of one eye and side of the
face.
Attacks of prosopalgia, recurring regularly, preceded by irritable
disposition, prostration, yawning, chilliness, coldness of feet ;
pains are boring and crushing, and extend even as far as the fingers.
Tearing pains in the whole left side of the head and face, followed by
paralysis.

Mouth :

Tongue dry, or dry at the edges, without thirst.
Tongue coated white or yellow.
A metallic taste, with loss of appetite.
General dryness of the mouth and throat.

Throat :

Swallowing difficult, particularly on account of choking contraction in
the upper part of pharynx, which even impedes breathing and causes cough,
particularly on account of loss of power of the faucial muscles.
Speech difficult on account of paralysis of the tongue and other muscles.

Stomach :

Loss of appetite ; even aversion to food.
Hunger, but the smell of food causes aversion.
Thirst, especially when eating.
Aversion to all acids.
Eructations, empty ; bitter ; efforts to eructate which are
ineffectual, and instead of which there is hiccough.
Nausea in the morning, so that she can scarcely rise ; especially
when riding in a wagon or the cars.
Nausea, with salivation and headache and bruised feeling in the abdomen.
Nausea, associated with faintness.
Griping, pinching, constrictive pains in the stomach.
Pain beneath the stomach after eating.
A feeling as if a worm were moving about in the stomach.
Cramps in the stomach while eating and immediately afterward, with violent
pinching and clawing.
A feeling of fullness and griping in the stomach, with oppressed
breathing.

Abdomen :

Pinching and griping in the upper part of the abdomen, and oppression of
breath.
Great flatulent distention ; gas seems to collect in small
masses ; the gas seems to be confined by spasmodic constriction of
the bowels, sometimes > lying on one side.
A feeling of emptiness in the abdomen.
Ulcerative pain in the abdomen.
The inguinal hernia is apt to protrude and become incarcerated, especially
on rising from a seat.
An internal feeling in the groin as if stuffed, and as if the bowels would
fall out.
A weak pain in the right inguinal ring as if something would be forced
out, while sitting, > rising.

Clinical

:
Flatulent colic only slightly ameliorated by evacuating gas ; attacks
come on at night, associated with feeling of emptiness, nausea, vertigo,
etc.
Gastralgia from suppression of menses.
Excessive flatulent distention of abdomen and dysmenorrha.
A valuable remedy in hernias, both umbilical and inguinal ; is
particularly indicated when the abdominal muscles are weak and it seems as
if a hernia would easily take place.
Flatulent colic in pregnancy, etc.
The flatulent colic ameliorated by eructating gas, aggravated by coughing.

Menstruation too early, with distention of abdomen and cutting-contractive
pain in abdomen on every motion and every breath, with contraction of
rectum.
Menstruation too early, with distention of abdomen and pain in upper
abdomen on every motion and when sitting, as from sharp pressure of a
stone, with pain on touch as from an internal ulcer.

Dyspna, as from constriction in the throat.
Short-breathed, on account of tension in the abdomen and oppression of the
chest.
Fatiguing cough, with oppression of the chest.
Cough seemed to be caused by a constriction of the air passages.

Heart and Pulse :

Palpitation.

Neck and Back :

Weakness in the muscles of the neck, with heaviness of head ; can
scarcely hold it up, > leaning head backward.
Stiff pain in the muscles on moving the head, or on yawning.
Stiffness in the cervical muscles, with great weakness.
Cracking in the cervical vertebræ.
Paralytic pain in the small of the back, with spasmodic drawing across the
hips, preventing walking, with anxiety and fear.

Clinical

:
Great weakness of cervical and dorsal muscles, then paralysis ; in
spinal irritation, with great hyperæsthesia of all senses.
Constant pain in back, shooting through body to both sides and along spine
to occiput, and even to temples at times, aggravated by walking and
stooping ; tenderness from pressure on vertebral spines from last
dorsal vertebra to sacrum ; frequent giddiness ; does not fall
asleep until late on account of pain.

Extremities :

General trembling, especially in the evening, with chilliness.
Paralytic drawing pains in the limbs ; can scarcely rise, with loss
of appetite.
Stiffness of all the joints ; painful.
The feet and hands fall asleep.
Sticking pain in the shoulder joint and muscles of the arm, during rest.
Bone pain in the arms, as if beaten, on raising them.
The arms fall asleep.
Trembling of the hand when eating, < on raising it.
One hand, and then the other becomes insensible and asleep.
Paralytic immobility and paralysis of the lower extremities from the small
of the back downward.
A bruised pain in the thighs.
The knees crack on motion ; sometimes become inflamed and swollen,
with stinging pains.
The knees knock-under from weakness ; he totters when walking and
threatens to fall to one side.
Burning in the feet.
Feet fall asleep when sitting ; swelling of the feet.

Sleep :

Constant yawning and stretching after lying down in bed.
Loss of sleep on account of anxiety and physical restlessness.
Anxious dreams.

Fever :

Constant chilliness, with hot skin.
Chill in the evening and shivering, especially in the back.
Exhausting sweat on motion.

Clinical

:
Intermittent fever ; chill, associated with flatulent colic, nausea,
disgust at the smell of food, vertigo, etc. ; chill, frequently
partial, with coldness of lower extremities and heat of head ; the
chill mingles with the heat and the febrile stage seems to be imperfectly
developed ; the sweat is general, cold only on the face ; the
attack followed by extreme debility and by numerous Cocculus symptoms.
Low types of malarial fevers, typhoid, rheumatic, relapsing, etc., with
intense headache at base of occiput ; vertigo, nausea, extreme
faintness, numbness ; great difficulty in collecting ideas.